Monday, February 9, 2009

CSI Has Nothing on Target Corp.

I was amazed last fall when I came across an article in The New Yorker that presented an inside view into something that most chains are not very open about: loss prevention. The author succeeded in getting one of the nation’s most press-shy public retailers, Target Corp., to discuss its anti-theft efforts — he even got a tour of the company’s crime lab. (In fact, I wrote about the article here, in a Sept. 18 posting called “Must Reading: ‘Stop Thief!’” Scroll down to find it.)

Now Target has gone one step further, opening up its lab and crime-busting efforts to ABC News in a segment that aired Feb. 2 on “Nightline.” The spot is mainly focused on Target’s effort to combat the growing problem of organized retail theft, and includes footage of criminals at work in Target stores (in one sequence, a couple clears out an entire shelf of iPods) and interviews with the chain’s crime fighters. It also includes some sobering statistics.

All in all, Target comes across as one savvy and sophisticated retailer when it comes to protecting its goods. Click here for the segment in case you missed it.